Today in APIs: Census Bureau Releases New API Data Sets

The U.S. Census Bureau has added multiple data sets to its API. The White House hosted a hackathon as part of the second annual National Day of Civic Hacking. Plus, OneNote API Sample for Node.js is now available on GitHub.

Census Bureau Releases New Data Sets of its API

The Census Bureau launched its API in 2012. Since then, the Bureau has remained dedicated to its strategy with a number of updates. This week, the Bureau announced a number of new data sets available through its API. The API now includes 2013 population estimates and 2012 nonemployer statistics. The additional data sets brings the total categories to around ten, some spanning three decades.

The Census Bureau decided to allow programmatic access to its data sets in hopes that developers could build tools that researchers could use to determine how various topics impact a community. Additional tools are available (i.e. Developer Forum and Discovery Tool) that further enhances developers’ ability to use the API.

The White House Hosts a Hackathon

As part of the second annual National Day of Civic Hacking, the White House hosted a number of beta testers of its Write API for We the People. The goal of the Write API is to create an online petitions platform. We the People already enjoys 14 million users, but the API will encourage even further adoption and ease petition access further.

The White House was encouraged with the results of the hackathon. Demos included third party app integrations, website plugins, and individuals apps designed to petition the White House. Those interested in the beta can learn more here.

About the author:Eric Carter
Eric the founder of Dartsand and Corporate Counsel for a specialty technology distributor. He is a frequent contributor to technology media outlets and also serves as primary legal counsel for multiple startups in the Real Estate, Virtual Assistant, and Software Development Industries. Follow me on Google+